Jeff Mitchell: Thanksgiving is all about gratitude - or it should be

Jeff Mitchell

Are you remotely like me and are wondering where exactly 2013 went? Holy Moses! You turn around once and the year's almost gone. What's up with that?

And while I will be away from my family minding the newsroom here at The Californian today, I have to say that Thanksgiving is without a doubt my favorite of the big national holidays.

I love T-day, naturally, because of all the good chow, but also because it's the only non-secular holiday that focuses simply and elegantly on one primary theme: Gratitude.

Don't get me wrong. Christmas is great and so is New Year's and the Fourth of July. They're all terribly fun.

But T-day is the one day where most of us pause - at least between heaping mouthfuls of turkey and stuffing - and reflect on the friends, loved ones and family who have been there for us and who have supported us through good and bad times over the year.

Many of us will use the occasion to think about absent friends or loved ones who have passed on, too.

When I think of my family members - those folks who end up taking so much crap from us along the way - I just marvel at their patience. (No, really, I do.)

Same with my friends who often just roll their eyes, give me a brief hard time and then gladly pitch in to help.

And what can you say about your office or work mates? It's kind of to scary to think of exactly how much time you spend with these people over the course of a year. Mine are pretty great here at The Californian.

I am personally thankful to my many sources who have reached out to me to share information, history and viewpoints. Under the Dome wouldn't be the same without you.

But mostly I want to express my gratitude to the hundreds of readers this year that have taken the time to write or call me with their thoughts about this still-work-in-progress column.

Dome, as you know, is an amalgamation of investigative reporting, storytelling, hard-fact journalism and, yes, an opinion - mine - thrown in for spice.

Just as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz discovered, we're definitely not in Kansas anymore. It's the same with journalism. Back when I was in college, the idea of a news column containing the writer's opinion in it would have been abominable.

Nowadays, in this anything goes, blogosphere- and website-driven world, consumers of the news don't mind so much finding a reporter's take in copy - so long as it's thoughtful and balanced.

And that's exactly what I try to do with each Dome - provide you new information about the Salinas Valley world of politics and government in a readable, entertaining and yet balanced way.

Your response to the column and lately to our new video show, Under the Dome Live! has at times overwhelmed this old yard dog of a reporter and I thank you for it.

While I'm at it let me throw my bosses a well-deserved bone, too. First Mike Nemeth, our former managing editorwho let me run with the idea in the spring of 2012 and then to Digital Editor Katharine Ball and to current top news boss, Managing Editor Pete Wevurski.

Blessing all of it, of course, has been Paula Goudreau, our group president and publisher. Paula's support of the whole Dome effort has been critical and I thank her for it.

So, yes, in between today's football, turkey and fixings and all those glorious pies (did I mention that I love pie?) I hope we all take a minute to consider and appreciate all the many good things in our lives and to give thanks for them.

Have a great holiday, everyone!

Homeless Warming Shelter Watch - Day 40

Wednesday marked the 40th day that the Salinas City Council and the Monterey County Board of Supervisors failed to take action to oversee the creation and organization of a winter warming shelter for area homeless people in Salinas.

Jeff Mitchell covers Salinas Valley politics and government. Under the Dome, an opinion column, appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in print and online. For quick political hits, check out Under the Dome - The Blog, available most every day at: www.theCalifornian.com.